She glanced at him over her shoulder but didn’t respond.
“Todd, if you’ll take the stairs, I’ll finish up in here with Natasha,” he said, his eyes never leaving hers. The moment the words left his mouth, he wanted to call them back. With everything swirling around inside him, he really should be staying as far away from her as possible, interacting only when necessary. Yet curiosity got the best of him. Antonio wanted to know what she’d been doing since college and why she was in Firefly Lake selling real estate when she had always dreamed of opening her own interior design business in Los Angeles. Had there been someone special in her life at some point? And why hadn’t she taken a trip down the aisle like him?
As soon as Todd climbed the stairs, Natasha said, “We need to stay focused on the house and nothing else.”
“I agree. For now. We’re going to have to talk aboutusat some point, though.” However, Antonio wasn’t quite ready to reopen those wounds.
CHAPTER 8
He almost kissed me.” Four days later, Natasha still couldn’t believe it. Since then Antonio had been the perfect gentleman, but she didn’t know how to take the back-to-business attitude he’d reverted to or the contrasting heated looks he’d thrown her way each time they were together. She’d woken up this morning and decided she needed to talk to someone and drove over to the auto shop to see Dana.
Dana smiled. “And did you push him away?”
“I should have,” she mumbled, pacing in front of Dana as she worked on a car Saturday morning.
“Which means you wanted to kiss him, too.”
“Yes. No! I mean… Shoot, I don’t know.” Despite her words, Natasha had been curious. Would it be the same as before? Better? She stopped and threw her hands up. “It’s Antonio, the first guy I kissed. The first guy I—”
“Just stop right there. TMI, girl, T-M-I. But seriously, I think it would be cool if y’all got back together.”
Natasha dropped her head. “It’s never going to happen, Dana,” she said resignedly. “He’s gone back to acting all businesslike, but sometimes I catch him staring at me with looks that could melt my clothes. I don’t know if I’m coming or going.”
“Sounds like he’s having the same problem. Maybe you should put each other out of misery and give it another go. You won’t know where this lingering attraction leads unless you try.”
“Even if the chemistry is still there, it won’t matter once we have that conversation about why I broke it off in the first place.”
Dana wiped her hands on a rag and leaned against the car. “Which I’m sure you plan to tell him soon. I know the girls here gave you hell about not being good enough for him, but I just never believed he would cheat on you.”
“Thinking back, I should have handled things so differently, but I let my insecurities get the best of me.”
“Does Serenity know? I mean, you were roommates, so I figured you talked to her, at least.”
“She knows most of it, just not all the drama that happened in high school.” Serenity’s support during that time had cemented their friendship.
“Well, I’m sure you and Tony will work it out.”
“I hope so.” It needed to be soon because she couldn’t take being so close to him, beginning to want him again, and knowing he would hate her all over again.
“We’ll make sure to have plenty of tissues and wine on hand.”
She laughed and gave Dana’s shoulders a squeeze. “I love you, girl. I’m so glad you’re my friend.”
“I love you, too. Now hurry up and talk to Tony so I can get the scoop.”
Natasha shook her head. “I can’t with you. How long are you going to be here?”
“As soon as I close this hood and wash my hands, I’m out. I only came in on a Saturday morning because my dad had to go pick up some parts and he promised the customer the car would be ready today.”
“How about lunch at Ms. Ida’s?”
“You ain’t said nothing but a word. I’m starving.”
“Good. I’ll be in the waiting area.” While seated, she thought about Antonio. As much as she didn’t want to admit it, she wondered what his kisses would be like now. The kisses they shared had been of two teens who fancied themselves in love and, having nothing to compare them with, she’d thought no one could do it better. But they were both grown now and had been with other people. She’d heard he’d gotten married, and since he had returned alone, she assumed things hadn’t worked out. Natasha wanted to ask about it but figured she should leave it alone unless Antonio wanted to share.
“I’m ready,” Dana said, approaching. “Are we walking or driving?”
“It’s not too cold, so we can walk, and I’ll pick up my car on the way back.” Today the temperature had hit the mid-sixties with a slight breeze, which made it perfect for walking the block and a half to the restaurant. Obviously, several other people had the same idea, as the sidewalks were fairly crowded.
